"And this [is] the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran , and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand [went] a fiery law for them." (Deuteronomy 33:1)

This is a chronological succession of prophets which is narrated through reference to location. These prophesy is reported at the end of Deuteronomy in association with the story of the death of Prophet Moses (pbuh). It was a blessing and glad tidings bestowed by Prophet Moses upon his followers just prior to his death. It was designed to give his followers hope upon the occasion of the passing of their prophet that God is not abandoning them, rather, the best is yet to come, and He shall continue to bless mankind with His guidance and His light.

Sinai is a reference to Moses (pbuh). It is an obvious reference to Mount Sinai where Moses (pbuh) received his revelation (Exodus 19:20).

Seir is a reference to Jesus (pbuh). It is usually associated with the chain of mountains West and South of the Dead Sea extending through Jerusalem , and Bethlehem , the birthplace of Jesus (pbuh). It was later extended to include the mountains on the East side as well (Dictionary of the Bible, John L. McKenzie, S.J., p. 783). However, Seir is also identified with the Northern border of the tribal territory of Judah and usually with Saris near Kesla (Chesalon), barely nine miles West of these two cities (The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary, by Allen C. Myers, pp. 921-922, and The Interpreter' s Dictionary of the Bible, V4, p. 262) Prophet Moses (pbuh) never in his lifetime entered Palestine, and thus, this could not be a reference to him.

Paran is a reference to the city of Makkah in the Arabian Peninsula . The wilderness of Paran is where Abraham's wife Hagar and his eldest son Ishmael settled (Genesis 21:21) in the Arabian Desert , specifically, Makkah. Makkah is, of course, the capital of Islam in Arabia and the birthplace of Mohammed (pbuh). Mount Paran is the chain of mountains in that same region which the Arabs call the " Sarawat Mountains ". Muhammad (pbuh) received his first revelation in the cave of "Hira'a" located in these mountains. Jesus never in his life traveled to Paran. Mohammed, however, was born there. He became the prophet of Islam there. And it was the capital of the Islamic religion in that day and this. No prophet of the Bible ever came from the Arabian city of Paran (Makkah). Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the only prophet of God who has ever fulfilled this prophesy.

"I was born of staunch Catholic Christian parents. My father was a preacher who knew the Bible almost by heart my mother, an orthodox Catholic, would only give us the morning coffee after her return from Church. Even from my youngest days, I was made to memorize certain verses from the Bible. By the time I had completed the study of all the four Gospels and knew many important verses, in those four books, by heart."

Hello seekshidayath. You claim you were born of 'staunch Catholic Christian parents' here, and that your 'father was a preacher' ? Where exactly where you raised in this staunch Catholic orthodox family where you father was a preacher ? This passage throws serious doubts on your claims to be whom you say you have been. I was raised a 'staunch Catholic' and I have not known of a 'father' to be a 'preacher' in Catholicism. The priests do the preaching, and marriage is forbidden to R Catholic priests. Maybe I have read this wrong, and if so I apologise. But this just does not ring true at all here. There are other things you claim that make me doubt you to be what you claimed to have been raised too. I'll add to that when you get back on the Catholic father as 'preacher'.

Hello seekshidayath. You claim you were born of 'staunch Catholic Christian parents' here, and that your 'father was a preacher' ? Where exactly where you raised in this staunch Catholic orthodox family where you father was a preacher ? This passage throws serious doubts on your claims to be whom you say you have been. I was raised a 'staunch Catholic' and I have not known of a 'father' to be a 'preacher' in Catholicism. The priests do the preaching, and marriage is forbidden to R Catholic priests. Maybe I have read this wrong, and if so I apologise. But this just does not ring true at all here. There are other things you claim that make me doubt you to be what you claimed to have been raised too. I'll add to that when you get back on the Catholic father as 'preacher'.

Allah Akbar

Hello Gulliver,

Welcome to our boards of discussions at IC.

Alhamdulillah, am a born muslim. That was a story shared.

But still i shall try to get your doubt cleared, insha Allah. I did not know that. If am not wrong your question is, how can "father" { a catholic} be a preacher , right ? Kindly, clear it.

You are welcome to get any of your doubts clarified. InshaAllah, shall try my best to answer it or get it answered.

Edited by seekshidayath - 14 September 2008 at 2:12am

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."

Hello Seekshidayath. I aplogise. I was unsure whom the story was supposed to be referring to, and was confused on the names. I had read some of your comments/posts elsewhere and did wonder. There is something about this 'story' that is just not 'right'. It's all too 'protestant' to be coming from a supposed 'catholic'. I may be wrong. But I do not believe the author of this story was raised Catholic at all. The entire post is dubious, questionable, when you wonder that the one claming to have lived this supposed life is not telling the truth at all. Again - if I am wrong I apologise. I don't believe I am though. It sounds like one of those 'stories' that is really about undermining other 'faiths' than seeking any kind of 'truth' about anything 'faith'ful at all - about God the giver of 'faith' itself.

"I was born of staunch Catholic Christian parents. My father was a preacher who knew the Bible almost by heart my mother, an orthodox Catholic, would only give us the morning coffee after her return from Church. Even from my youngest days, I was made to memorize certain verses from the Bible. By the time I had completed the study of all the four Gospels and knew many important verses, in those four books, by heart."

The author is claming that his parents were staunch catholic christians. Then he says that his father was a 'preacher'. Catholic fathers do not 'preach' in the churches, though it might be an idea if they were allowed to. It is the role of the 'priest' - like the Imam in the Mosque. The supposedly 'educated' ones are the 'preachers' in all kinds of 'churches'. And if he were that staunch a Catholic - why is there no sense of that at all in the entire post. Catholics were not generally, if at all, raised 'memorising' the bible. This guy has catholicism and protestantism seriously mixed up somewhere along the line and that makes me doubt his real intention and 'argument' with everything else - least of all his sincere desire to be truthful or seek truth.

This is a difficulty for people of a similar faith, let alone those of supposedly 'different' faiths. Within Islam itself - there are 'sects' I believe, at least 'sunni' and 'sh'ite' (?) I am sure that perhaps one could tell the other, by the way they 'speak' and relate on matters, even online.

I don't know if you will be able to answer this Seeks. The 'argument' that he is trying to make on matters theological may be 'logical' or 'sensible' - or seem that way. But that is what it is to me - 'seem'ingly that way - like the entire post - 'seem's to be something that's it's not - because it's not based on a solid foundation - a simple 'truth' that the author was, is who he claims to have been/be - 'raised a staunch catholic christian' with a 'preacher' father, and the rest. I'd need great 'faith' indeed to believe this particular 'story'.

That's the real question.

Is, was the author who he claims to have been, be ? I don't know if that can be answered, except in meeting him for real. I'd know in a few mins, or less, whether he had 'staunch catholic' parents or not, and if really were the 'son of a preacher man'.

The preaching of sermons is especially prominent in Protestantism, especially among those denominations that feature revivalism. Lay preachers often figure in these traditions of worship, for example the Methodist local preachers. Among Roman Catholics, the Dominican Order is officially known as the Order of Preachers (Ordo Praedicatorum in Latin); friars of this order were trained to publicly preach in vernacular languages, and the order was created by Saint Dominic to preach to the Cathars of southern France in the early thirteenth century.

Saint Dominic established a religious community in Toulouse in 1214, to be governed by the Rule of St. Augustine and statutes to govern the life of the friars, including the Primitive Constitution. (The statutes were inspired by the Constitutions of Prémontré.) The founding documents establish that the Order was founded for two purposes -- preaching and the salvation of souls. The organization of the Order of Preachers was approved in December 1216 by Pope Honorius III (see also Religiosam vitam; Nos attendentes).

Edited by seekshidayath - 16 September 2008 at 7:35pm

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."

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